Skylight



Nov. 30, 1937.

A. A. KELLOGG SKYLIGHT Filed April 3, 1957 3 Sheets-Shea?l 1 Inventor".Alfred A. Kel [02%.

H Attorney.

C 0 un n C fl a e \u Nv. 30, 1937. A. A. KELLOGG SKYLIGHT Filed AprilC5, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 I'nvsr-b-or: Alfred A. Kel Io'bng. by

ls Attorney.

Nov. 30, 19317. f A. A. KELLOGG SKYLIGHT Irwvrwtorf Alfred A. Ke l lo .sAttohn ey Patented Nov. 30, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT LOFFICE SKYLIGHTtion of New York Application April 3, 1937, Serial No. 136,055

7 Claims.

The present invention relates to skylights and especially to skylightsof the Atype which are placed over the stages in theatres, auditoriumsor similar buildings and have sash or shutters which are normally closedbut are opened in case of a fire to provide a vent for directing thepath of the re. When the shutters are opened, a draft is created tendingto carry away the smoke and flames over the stage and conne the fire, atleast initially, to the stage, thus preventing its spreading over theseating Aspace of the building.

Heretofore, in structures of this type the shutters, in general, havebeen held shut byropes which are cut, incase of re, to permit theshutters to open. Such arrangements are open to the objection that it isdiilicult to keep the shutters closed tight. Often the ropes stretchpermitting the shutters to open ,slightly so that snow, rain or cold canenter. Also, such arrangements present an unsightly appearance becauseof the number of relatively heavy ropes required.

One object of my invention is to provide an improved construction .andarrangement in a skylight of this type wherein the shutters are heldalways tightly closed and are not likely to get out of adjustment andvopen slightly.

Another object of-my invention is to' provide a structure'whereby theshutters can be easily and accurately adjusted toclosed position.

A further object of my invention is-to provide an improved structurewhich is relatively simple in construction, reliable in operation andcapable of being built at 'low cost.

For a consideration of what I believe to be novel and my inventionattention is directed to the following specification and the claimsappended thereto.

Inthe drawings which show one vembodiment of my invention, Fig.` l is aside elevation, partly broken away atone end, of'a complete skylight,the shutters :being closed; Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 22, Fig. 1 looking in the directionxof theY arrows; Fig. 2a is a detailedsectional View of apart of oneof the corner posts; Fig. 3 -isl a sideelevation of a portion of the skylight showing the shutters open; Fig. 4is a View, onan enlarged scale, of-the shutter shown at the lefthand'endof Fig. 1; Fig. 5 isfa face view of affportion of twoadjacent shutters,looking toward the inside of the skylight, i. e., toward the YleftinFignl. Figrais a-detail view of the lower portion of Fig. 4 showing theshutter in open position; Fig. 6 is-aiace viewof a releasing mechanism;Fig. 7 `is-:a sectional view taken on line '1 -1, Fig. 6; Fig. 18 is asectional View taken on (Cl. S- 16) line 8 8, Fig. 6; Fig. 9 is aperspective view of a complete skylight; and Figs. 10 and 11 are detailperspective views of certain parts.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 9, the skylight comprises a rectangularframe having side and end base members I and 2Y adapted to lit over thecurbing on a roof, side and top members 3 and 4, and corner posts 5which hold the base and top members in -spaced relation to each other.Between the top and bottom members in spaced relation to the cornerposts and to each other are uprights 'S which serve to divide the sidesand ends of the frame into openings or windows in which are located thesashl or shutters l. The top of the frame is closed vby a cover or roof8 of suitable construction. The specic construction of the roof 8 formsno part of vthe present invention. Accordingly, it is not illustratedand described in detail. The curbing is indicated at 9 in Figs. 1, 4,and 5a and the roof dashing which extends up over the curbing isindicated Yat I0.

The side andend members `I vand 2 are shaped from sheet metal Aofsuitable thickness to give the desired strength, to provide a rightangle portion I I which rests on the outertop corner of the curbing, avertical portion I2 and an angularly reversely bent portion 'whichprovides a .seat I3. Also, each member has an angularly extendingbracing member. I4 suitably attached to it to give it rigidity. The side`and end members are fastened to each other and to the corner posts byrivets or othersuitable means and they are suitably anchored to thecurbing.

As shown in Fig. 2, the corner posts each comprise a rectangular columnI5 having two U- shaped side columns I6 fastened thereto. 4The outerwalls ofI the side columns have outturned anges II. The uprights. 6 areU-shaped in cross section and have outturned flanges I8. Attached to theside walls of the uprights (see Fig. 11) and to the side walls ofcolumns I6 are .angle strips I9 which provide guide walls 20 which slopeoutwardly from their upper ends downward to about their central portionsand then slope inwardly to their lower ends. These guide walls extendthroughout the length of the uprights'6 as is best shown in Figs. 4 and5, andare elbow shaped as is clear from Fig. 4. Thus along the sides ofeach shutter opening or window are opposed guide walls 20 which arealike in structure and arrangement.

Pivotally .mounted in each shutter opening'is a shutter` 21 comprisingupperl and lower halves 22 and `2.. hinged together as is indicated at24 so as to collapse. or fold together outwardly-in Cil All f ,arm 40normally rests.

vto which is attached a rope 52.

opening. The general structure of the shutters is best shown in Fig. 1l.Each half comprises a body portion having side anges 26 adapted to closeagainst the guide walls 26. The shutters may be constructed from sheetmetal bent to the required form and suitably reinforced to give them thedesired strength. The central portion may comprise a suitable heatinsulating material as is indicated at 21. The upper end of each shutterfits behind a frame strip 23 to make the top tight and the lower end ofeach shutter engages the outer edge of the strip which forms seat I3.Thus when the shutters are closed they are tightly sealed around theedges. To seal the crack between the two halves of each shutter, theupper half is provided with a downwardly projecting strip 29 whichengages the lower half when the door is closed as is shown in Fig. 4.

Attached to the lower edge of each shutter is an angular hinge strip 30which rests in seat I3. When the shutter is closed the hinge stripoccupies the position shown in Fig. 4 and when the shutter is open' itoccupies the position shown in Fig. 5a. Fixed to the upper corners ofeach shutter is a slide pin or guide bolt 3I which engages the guidewalls 20. Thus the guide walls 25 are located between the guide bolts 3land the door iianges 26. When the shutters are closed as shown in Fig.4, the two halves of each shutter stand at a slight outward angle toeach other and due to their weight tend to collapse outwardly, the twohalves folding together as shown in Figs. 3 and 5H. Thus the shuttersare biased toward open position.

Each shutter is held closed by a rectangular bracket 32 pivotallymounted on the shutter at one end as indicated at 32a and provided witha threaded opening at its other end in which is an adjusting screw 33.The free end of the bracket 32 ts over the end of an arm 34 Iixed on ashaft 35, the end of the adjusting screw engaging with a notch 36 in theend of the arm, see Figs. 4 and l0. There are four shafts 35, one alongeach .side and one along each end of the skylight as shown in Fig. 2.They are connected together at their ends by bevel gears 31 so that allmay vturn together.V The shafts are pivotally supported at spacedintervals by brackets 38, there vbeing a bracket 38 fastened to eachupright 6, 4(see Fig. 2). As will be seen in Fig. 2, there is a bracket32 for each shutter located at about the middle of the shutter and acorresponding arm 34 on the adjacent shaft 35.

Fixed on one shaft 35, the left hand end shaft in the present instance,is a downwardly projecting trip arm. 40 having a notch 4I at its outerend. Fixed to the inner side of the adjacent upright 6 is a bracket 42on which is pivoted a holding lever 43. One end of holding lever 43 hasan opening 44 in which the notched end of trip At 45 is a stop pin forthe holding lever 43. Pivoted to bracket 42 beneath holding lever 43 isa release lever 46 having an adjustable weight 41 at one end and an`adjustable screw 48 at the other end which lies beneath the end ofholding lever 43. The pivot pin for lever 46 is indicated at 56.Attached to lever 46 adjacent to screw 48 is an eye bolt 5I Rope 52extends down around a pulley 53 fixed to the adjacent wall I2 thenceacross the skylight (see Fig. 2), over a second pulley 54 at the otherside of the skylight and thence downward to a point on the wall of thebuilding where it is attached to a releasable holder or box 55 (See Fig.9). Box 55 comprises, as shown in Figs. 6, '1, and 8, walls forming avertical guide 56 in which is located a slide 51 having an opening 58 inits upper end. in which is fastened the end of rope 52. In the' box is alever 59 pivoted to walls of the box at 66. One end of the lever restsnormally in an'. opening 6i in slide 51 and the other end rests on thetop of a glass window 62 suitably supported'` over an opening 53 in thebox by a flange 64.- The weight 41 on lever 46 to which one end of rope52 is fastened tends to pull rope 52 and slide 51 upwards and hence theslide normally pulls upward on the one end of lever 5S but the glasswindow 62 keeps the lever from turning. It will thus be seen that thewindow holds the weighted lever 46 in the position shown in Fig. 4. Inrope 52 are a number of fusible links 65. Suspended from box 55 is ahammer 66 which may be used for breaking glass 62. Y

Normally the shafts 35 are all held stationary by holding lever 43 whichengages trip arm 4I?,

and when held in this position the arms 34 all extend vertically upwardand are likewise held stationary. Now by adjusting the screws 33 eachshutter can be individually pulled shut tight and each will be held shutindependently of the others and also independently of the rope 52. Thislatter is especially important for even; though the rope stretches itwill not aiect the adjustment of the shutters. Also, the arrangement hasthe advantage that it permits the use of a relatively light weight rope.

To effect the opening of the shutters in the case of a re, it isnecessary only to break the glass 52 thus releasing the slide 51. 'Ihismay be done by any suitable implement such as, for example, the hammer66 shown hung from the box 55. When the slide is released, weight 41turns lever 45 bringing the end of screw 48 up against lever 43 andturning it to release arm 40. This releases the shafts 35. permittingYall the shutters to open. In opening, the shutters move from a positionas shown in Fig. 4 to the position shown in Figs. 3 and 5a, hinge strip3B turning in seat I3. The shutters are guided in their closing movementby guide walls 20 along which the guide bolts 3| slide.

Similarly, the weighted lever 46 will be released to effect opening ofthe shutters in case one of the fusible links 65 is melted.

As pointed out above, each of the shutters is adjusted to closedposition by its adjusting screw 33 and when so adjusted it will bemaintained in such position. Due to the elbow shape of guide walls 2D,the upper and lower halves of the shutters stand always at a slightoutward angle to each other. This angle is sucient so that there isample force due to the weight of the shutters Vto cause them to collapseoutwardly when released. A space is left between the end of screw 48 andthe adjacent end of lever 43 so that any stretching or shrinking of rope52 will not aiect adversely the adjustment of the mechanism. Since rope52 is required to hold only the weighted lever 46, it may be relativelylight in weight. Also, only one rope is required for all the shutters.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I havedescribed the principle of operation of my invention together with oneembodiment of the invention. It is to be understood. however, that thestructure shown is only llll by way of example and that the inventionmay be carried out by other means.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is:

1. In a skylight construction, a frame providing a plurality of windows,shutters pivoted in said windows biased toward open positions, a shaft,bearings for the shaft, means normally holding said shaft from turning,an arm on the shaft for each shutter, a bracket attached to each shutterand engaging its corresponding arm to hold the shutter closed, means foradjusting the connection between each bracket and its arm whereby eachshutter may be adjusted individually, and means for releasing the shaftholding means to permit the shutters to open.

2. In a skylight construction, a rectangular frame providing windows onits sides, shutters pivoted in said windows biased toward openpositions, shafts along the sides of the frame geared together to turnin unison, an arm on the shaft for each shutter, a bracket attached toeach shutter and engaging its corresponding arm to hold the shutterclosed, means for adjusting the connection between each bracket and itsarm whereby each shutter may be adjusted individually, means normallyholding said shafts from turning, and means for releasing the shaftholding means to permit the shutters to open.

3. In a skylight construction, a frame providing a window, a shutterpivotally mounted at its lower end in the window comprising two partshinged together .to collapse, means whereby said shutter is biasedtoward open position, releasable means holding said shutter closed, andindependent means for releasing said releasable means.

4. In a skylight construction, a frame providing a window, a shutterpivotally mounted at its lower end in the window comprising two partsfor the shutter against which it closes and which serves to hold the twoparts of the shutter at an angle to each other whereby they tend tocollapse due to their weight, means for holding the shutter closed, andmeans for releasing said holding means.

5. In a skylight construction, a frame, a shutter pivotally mounted inthe frame biased to open position, means holding said shutter closed, aweighted member for releasing said holding means, a rope connected tothe weighted member, a casing having a frangible wall and means in thecasing to which the rope is connected and which is held against movementby said frangible wall whereby said frangible wall when broken releasesthe rope and permits the weighted member to release said holding means.

6. In a skylight construction, a frame, a shutter pivotally mounted inthe frame biased to open position, means holding said shutter closed, aweighted member for releasing said holding means, a rope connected tothe weighted member, a lever, one end of which is` connected to saidrope, and a frangible member supporting the other end of the lever whichwhen broken releases the rope and permits the weighted member to releasesaid holding means.

'7. In a skylight construction, a frame providing a plurality ofwindows, shutters pivotally mounted at their lower ends in the windows,each shutter comprising two parts hinged together, outwardly angledguide walls for the shutters against which they close and which serve tohold the two parts of the shutters at an angle to each other wherebythey tend to collapse due to their weight, pivoted shaft means,releasable means holding the shaft means from turning, arms on the shaftmeans, adjustable means connecting the shutters to the arms for holdingthem closed, and means for releasing the shaft holding means.

ALFRED A. KELLOGG.

